Friday 28 November 2014

EXTRACT FROM LETTER SENT BY HOME OFFICE SAFEGUARDING LEAD

SURVIVOR MEETING DATE – 8th December 2014
CONTACT DETAILS BELOW
There is an intention to host another meeting to hear from Survivors, as individuals. If you would like to have your voice heard, or to attend the meeting, you need to contact the following email address: CSA.InquiryLiaisonTeam@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk .
 
You would be doing this as an INDIVIDUAL survivor, and not as a representative of an agency, as the Home Secretary has stated she wishes to hear the views of individual survivors.
 
The Inquiry is independent and sits outside of the Home Office reporting structures, although they will provide the Home Secretary with a final report for publication. Therefore, it will be for the Panel and new Chairman, when appointed, to decide how they want to take the Inquiry forward. This includes the methodology and how they will engage with survivors to inform their work. The Inquiry is supported by a Secretariat who report directly to the Panel.
 
The Home Secretary is responsible for appointing the Chairman and setting the terms of reference (https://childsexualabuseinquiry.independent.gov.uk/ ). Once agreed, it is for the Inquiry to decide how they deliver to the terms of reference. The Home Office is also responsible for policy and legislation on child sexual abuse. As such, they would be taking forward any legislative or policy implications that arise out of the Inquiry once complete.
 
The Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry Liaison Team sit within the Safeguarding Directorate within the Home Office and the team is also there to support the Home Secretary in the process of appointing a NEW Chairman, ensuring that she has taken on the views of survivors in doing so. The team is also the link between the Home Office and the Inquiry.
 
APPOINTMENT OF (NEW) CHAIR TO THE INQUIRY
The Home Office have received over 100 nominations for the position of Chairman to the National Inquiry. If you would like to submit a name for consideration the deadline is midday Friday 12th December (again using the above email address).
 
THE PANEL AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Home Secretary has acknowledged that there are strong feelings from survivors that the inquiry ought to be statutory. She has no objection in principle. However, as the Inquiry has been set up as a non-statutory, there are two routes to conversion to statutory. Option 1 would be to set aside the Inquiry that has already been set up and start from scratch. The Home Secretary is not in favour of this because the Panel has already begun to meet monthly, albeit without a Chair, and closing it down would impede progress etc. The second and favoured option is that the new Chair be appointed and one of their first actions would be to ask the Home Secretary for the Inquiry to be converted into a Statutory Inquiry, which would be agreed. In other words, a paper action to accord with rulings for setting up of Statutory Inquiries etc.
 
28.11.14

1 comment:

  1. https://cathyfox.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/extract-from-letter-sent-by-home-office-safguarding-lead/

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